My dad bought one of the Troy-Bilts at lowes about 7 years ago. He mows about 3 acres and keeps it very well maincured. I dont think that he has ever had to do a thing to it except change the oil, battery and plugs. Still looks and works like new.

 

God forbid someone talk about John Deere in the truth. Watch out guys, Jbrew is going to come in here and attack you with personal insults.

 

I will agree that you should check with your local dealer. I bought my Cub GT2550 three years ago and have just over 100 hours on it. The only problem so far was a blew the belt from the PTO to the deck a few weeks ago.

The reason why I went with a dealer was two fold.... first only the dealer sells anything bigger than a 1500 series and second was for the service you get from the dealer. I read on another forum about tractors bought from the 'box stores' having issues and it boiled down to the machine not being properly set up by a pro (I am not slamming those that can a do a proper set up from the box stores).

The other thing here is that whether you get one from a box store or a dealer, if they sell the same model the price should be the same.